Almost everyone looks forward to Thanksgiving dinner. Sure, it’s your loved ones that make the day special, but how about the food! The feast differs from family to family and region to region, but there are a few general staples that feature in almost everyone’s meal – turkey side dishes that I grow every year. So let’s talk turkey and take a stroll through my Thanksgiving vegetable dishes from the garden.
Homegrown Thanksgiving Dinner
Turkey is the centerpiece at our table and what is turkey without sage? Fresh sage, of course. With that in mind, when I moved into my house, one of the first things I did in the garden was start an herb garden and, yes, it has sage and other hardy perennials like rosemary and thyme.
What else goes in my roasted turkey? Some of the aforementioned sage as well as fresh thyme sprigs, garlic, onions, celery and apples, all of which I grow.
Man or woman cannot live on turkey alone. We need some sides! Something with potatoes is a given, but we need a green on the plate too, like sautéed Brussels sprouts with balsamic and pine nuts or green bean casserole. Don’t forget to add on some orange-ginger carrots, a fresh arugula salad with beets and goat cheese, or some roasted acorn squash with bacon and maple syrup drizzle. Yes, you guessed it, I grow all these veggies.
As if this isn’t enough, I was thinking about starting with a butternut squash or creamy leek soup, but maybe that’s going too far. And I haven’t even gotten to dessert yet.
Hopefully, everything turns okay out and my guests can really feel the love from tending these crops an entire growing season. If not, they’re getting take out Chinese next year. At any rate, I won’t quit growing these turkey side dishes. That’s part of the fun.
